This week's edition of The Revealer on BackStory takes us to the bustling metropolis of Istanbul. Turkey's largest city is home to the spectacular Hagia Sophia monument, considered one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture. The building began life as a Christian church, but became a mosque during the Ottoman Empire.

The Hagia Sophia is now a museum visited every year by more than two million people. Many visitors think they know everything there is to know about the building. But, a Byzantine expert takes us on a tour revealing many of the museum's little-known secrets, many of which are hidden in the building's beautiful mosaics.

soundoff(8 Responses)

Andrew Madden

CNN – Just watched your story about the wall mosaics of the Hagia Sophia. Just one piece of advice. Next time it would give the story more authenticity if you focus on the correct building! The opening scenes of the building's exterior, with the introductory narrative 'building hiding centuries of secrets etc.', is actually the Blue Mosque, and not the Hagia Sophia. Slightly different edifices: built 1000 years apart, 300 metres in distance and are found at opposite ends of the Sultanahmet park, one is light blue the other red, one is a mosque and the other a museum.
Very lazy attention to detail CNN.

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